Residents of El Morro, a hamlet near Navas del Rey about 50km west of Madrid, returned home on Wednesday after being evacuated nearly a week earlier due to wildfires that have consumed tens of thousands of hectares. The scene was one of devastation: burnt-out cars, charred gardens, and gutted houses, with the smell of smouldering wood pervasive.
Residents confront destruction
A handwritten sign on a front gate read “EMPTY. No people or animals here.” Two burnt-out cars, barely identifiable as an Audi and a Seat, stood as evidence of the fire’s intensity. Blackened garden gnomes and crumbled ash from burnt hedges added to the grim tableau. Many residents were still in shock, phoning insurance companies or sweeping debris, while others struggled to process the loss.
One man led his elderly father out of a fire-gutted house, telling him it was time to change clothes. When asked how they were doing, the son replied, “We’re all doing so-so,” a statement that seemed brave but unlikely given the circumstances.
Personal stories of loss and relief
Mercedes Merino, 70, who has lived in El Morro for 35 years, pointed to her blackened garden with a flame-twisted cypress, dying loquat, and sooty swimming pool. Her house survived, but the garden was destroyed. “We’ve had fires here before, but nothing like this,” she said. “I knew what we were coming back to because lots of videos of the village have been going round. We’re all feeling really low. Some people are crying and some people have lost their houses, like the guy next door.” The neighbouring house was a tangle of warped building materials, with a collapsed roof and a horizontal chimney.
Across the road, Javier Herraiz, 68, and his family returned after fleeing to Cáceres. They found minimal damage to their home—a warped pipe and a lost rainwater tank—but were shaken by the state of the mountains and hamlet. “What we saw when we got here was just Dantesque,” Herraiz said. “It’s such a beautiful place but all of a sudden, it had come to look like hell.” He noted that some neighbours lost their homes and still have mortgages to pay.
Firefighters and guardian angels
Merino praised the firefighters: “The firefighters have been amazing. But how do you stop fires like these when you live in mountains covered with pine trees? We must have a guardian angel who was watching over us and protecting our house.” Eva Manso, whose home backs onto a wooded hillside, credited a sturdy brick wall and luck for protecting her house. The hills on the other side were black, with trees stripped by the heat. “We’ve never been through anything like this,” Manso said. “Yes, we had the Covid lockdown and Storm Filomena, but they were nothing like this. I don’t think anyone thought this would happen.”
Wider impact and climate concerns
The wildfires have affected swathes of Spain, from Madrid and Ávila to Valencia, highlighting the ongoing climate emergency. Merino reflected on the emotional toll: “I never cry over life’s difficult moments, but I sometimes cry over silly little things like a mosquito being squashed. Maybe I’ll find myself crying in a week’s time and I won’t be able to stop.”
